Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Are paediatric cardiology textbooks obsolete in the current digital era?

Lookup NU author(s):

Downloads


Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).


Abstract

© The Author(s), 2024.Introduction: With the rise of online references, podcasts, webinars, self-test tools, and social media, it is worthwhile to understand whether textbooks continue to provide value in medical education, and to assess the capacity they serve during fellowship training. Methods: A prospective mixed-methods study based on surveys that were disseminated to seven paediatric cardiology fellowship programmes around the world. Participants were asked to read an assigned chapter of Anderson’s Pediatric Cardiology 4th Edition textbook, followed by the completion of the survey. Open-ended questions included theming and grouping responses as appropriate. Results: The survey was completed by 36 participants. When asked about the content, organisation, and utility of the chapter, responses were generally positive, at greater than 89%. The chapters, overall, were rated relatively easy to read, scoring at 6.91, with standard deviations plus or minus 1.72, on a scale from 1 to 10, with higher values meaning better results. When asked to rank their preferences in where they obtain educational content, textbooks were ranked the second highest, with in-person teaching ranking first. Several themes were identified including the limitations of the use of textbook use, their value, and ways to enhance learning from their reading. There was also a near-unanimous desire for more time to self-learn and read during fellowship. Conclusions: Textbooks are still highly valued by trainees. Many opportunities exist, nonetheless, to improve how they can be organised to deliver information optimally. Future efforts should look towards making them more accessible, and to include more resources for asynchronous learning.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Kim ME, Tretter JT, Anderson RH, Spicer DE, Penny DJ, Kumar RK, McMahon CJ

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Cardiology in the Young

Year: 2024

Pages: epub ahead of print

Online publication date: 13/09/2024

Acceptance date: 13/02/2024

Date deposited: 30/09/2024

ISSN (print): 1047-9511

ISSN (electronic): 1467-1107

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1047951124000611

DOI: 10.1017/S1047951124000611


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Share